Chris Stapleton took the Saturday Night Live stage on January 16th in front of an All-Star band, furthering the off-the-charts momentum the songwriter has been riding since sweeping the three awards he was nominated for at the 2015 CMA Awards, including Male Vocalist of the Year, and Album of the Year. Since early November, Stapleton has been dominating Billboard‘s Country Albums charts, and Saturday night’s performance only promises to keep him the most dominant force in country music for weeks to come. At his current sales pace, Stapleton is on track to have the best-selling album in all of country music in the last 18 months or longer, and he’s doing it all without the benefit of significant radio play.

Speaking of radio play, Stapleton performing “Parachute” on SNL is probably a good indication this could be the next single off of his blockbuster album Traveller. His current single “Nobody To Blame” was the second song Stapleton performed. Notables joining Stapleton on stage were producer Dave Cobb on acoustic guitar, Robby Turner on keys and steel guitar, and his wife Morgane on backup vocals.

The next big event for Stapleton will be the 58th Annual Grammy awards happening Monday, February 15th, where the Kentucky native will be up for numerous awards, including Album of the Year. Recently, Pandora predicted the Grammy winners by pulling the overall number of spins for the track in the last year, and comparing that to the number of “thumbs up.” By their calculations, they expect Chris Stapleton to take the night’s top prize. Certainly all of the momentum Stapleton has accrued over the last few months can’t hurt his prospects.

Morgane didn’t sing during “Parachute” either. My guess is Chris elected to keep them on stage because he wanted to share the moment with some of the people he respects and helped get him here. Both Morgane and Mickey weighed in much heavier on “Nobody To Blame.” You really didn’t NEED Dave Cobb playing acoustic guitar either, but it was cool to see him on there, getting an opportunity to play that stage. In some respects this was a victory lap for Stapleton.

“Parachute” arguably was not the best song to perform on SNL, though I think it’s one of the strongest from “Traveller.” I think since it was SNL, Stapleton wanted to perform the singles, and that’s why I think we’ll see “Parachute” headed to radio, probably around Grammy time in a month or so, or when “Nobody To Blame” (which is a terrible single) reaches it peak.

Why is “nobody to blame” a terrible single? Of all the songs on his album, I’d actually think that’s the best single. Then again, I’m just some asshole who doesn’t know much about this-that’s why I come to your site, for your opinions. You’re better at this than me

I don’t think “Nobody To Blame” is a bad song, I just think with a radio single in today’s mainstream country climate, you have to find something super catchy and contemporary and pray insular radio programmers will pay attention to it. Country music radio programmers are the last people in the United States of America to figure out who Chris Stapleton is, and that he’s the hottest and fastest-rising artist in country since Florida Georgia Line a few years ago. You have to hold country radio’s hand and make it super easy for them. Otherwise, they’ll screw it up.

I agree. I love the song Parachute, and I think it will make a good single, but I don’t think it was the best song to do live. Chris really impresses people with his voice, and songs like Tennessee Whiskey, Fire Away, Sometimes I Cry really show off his vocals. Nobody To Blame is just doesn’t really stand out from the crowd as a single. It’s one that I’m likely to skip when I listen to the album. I just don’t get into songs that list all the things she did when she left me.

I don’t think “Nobody To Blame” stalling at radio (it currently has a pathetic bullet of +118 on Mediabase right now and it’s hardly gained any audience over the past week) has as much to do with it being a “terrible” single as it does with UMG doing an awful promotion job with it. It’s like they want to kill all of his momentum. Personally, I think it’s catchy as hell and one of the more radio-friendly tracks on “Traveller”, but that’s just my opinion. I imagine lots of casual listeners dislike it because they think it’s one of those “sad, boring tear-in-my-beer songs”.

I do think “Parachute” or an edited version of “Tennessee Whiskey” (due to its excellent sales) would be much better singles.

I think we can all agree UMG is clueless. Just like we all have different opinions on what makes a great song, we all have different opinions on what makes a great single. But I think any of us could have handled Stapleton’s singles better. If you repackage “Tennessee Whiskey” after the CMA’s and send it to radio, it would have been the #1 song for the last five weeks, not Thomas Rhett.

The sound during “Parachute” was awful. Couldn’t hear Stapleton’s guitar or Raphael’s harmonica at all, at least last night. Didn’t stay up for the second song, too tired and didn’t want to sit through any more unfunny SNL.

Man I thought that was Dave Cobb playing the guitar! That was awesome, what a way to show up and show out. With a Star Wars actor and a country music singer on SNL last night, it felt like they were finally starting to represent America, the one we all know and love!

Dave Cobb was the most enjoyable Part. To be a big deal for any artist to be on SNL (current relevency aside) I would have expented a MIT more emotion or Something from him. I love the man he just seemed to have zero stage presence. Sturgill would have burned that stage down

I seriously doubt Parachute will be the next single. It would be stupid to release it right after Nobody To Blame. Both songs have a strong outlaw sound.
I’m almost sure the next single will be Fire Away, which shows another side of Chris.

Nobody to Blame has no chances as well among the dumb teenager girls that listen to the radio, but radio is forced to play it after Chris’ CMA night. Parachute might work for a single, but I think it will be released as the fourth and final single. In my opinion Fire Away or When The Stars Come Out should be the third, and Fire Away has had best sales to date.

What would give you any indication that anyone on Music Row has any clue how to select singles from these non-commercial artists? They proved with Kacey Musgraves that they can take tons of momentum and kill it by somehow figuring how to release the worst songs possible as singles. “Nobody To Blame” was released because they had no clue Stapleton was going to blow up like he did, and they were caught flat footed. They should have rushed “Tennessee Whiskey” to radio, but it takes 3-6 months for a Music Row label to do anything. It’s like turning a battleship.

With all due respect, I fail to see why you view “Nobody To Blame” as a mistake, let alone a terrible single.

It’s only in its eleventh week on the chart and is sitting at #21 this week on the Billboard Hot Country Airplay chart. I’d say that’s a rather positive result. Granted Luke Bryan’s current single is up to #4 in its twelfth week and Carrie Underwood’s is up to #14 in its eighth week, but then again they are vastly more established names who have sinewed their longtime relationships with radio programmers. Stapleton is only now burgeoning from behind the curtain and forging working relationships with radio executives and other industry types.

It’s getting the job done digitally as well. It’s at #37 presently on the iTunes composite chart: above the vast majority of its chart rivals. I don’t doubt had his label released “Tennessee Whiskey” to radio that it would be faring even better, no question about that. I’m just disputing how you’re looking at this as a major misfire when it is generating solid returns.

At any rate, reaching #21 after eleven weeks with a stylistically left-of-center sounding track is nothing to sneeze at. I’m sure Mercury Nashville is much happier about that than, say, Easton Corbin’s “Yup” languishing at #35 in its twenty-sixth week on the chart, Billy Currington’s most recent single “Drinkin’ Town With A Football Problem” becoming his lowest-peaking single since 2007 at #30, or Scotty McCreery’s “Southern Belle” abomination reaching a woeful #45 (!) after eighteen (!!!) weeks on the chart.

I didn’t stay up to watch SNL, way past my bedtime. But, I would say the sound mixer on SNL needs to be shot. Like, the other commentators said, you can’t really hear his vocals real good. The instrumentation is louder than his vocals is, which is a shame because I know that Chris can really belt out a song.

Mickey is all over Chris’ album and has shown up on the late night shows with him as well. He still is in Willie’s band, too. He’s always been a high quality go to gun for hire – dating back to playing harp on Motley Crue’s cover of “Smokin’ in the Boys’ Room”.

I’m from Kentucky(Lexington area), but I’m not a fan of Stapleton. I am a big fan of Sturgill and this guy, who is also from Kentucky.
“If I’d known she was religious
Then I wouldn’t have came stoned
To the house of such an angel
Too fucked up to get back home”https://youtu.be/okE6ngADdCw

The acoustics were off throughout “Parachute” in particular, but all in all Stapleton sounded great as usual and I’m thrilled to see him, of all people, emerging as an ambassador for not just country music but blues and rock as well.

“Parachute”, honestly, is among my least favorite tracks on the album. And it has nothing to do with the fact it has a rock production. It’s because it’s one of the most lyrically lightweight tracks on the album and lacks any distinctive point of view. Granted it’s designed to be his rough equivalent of a lighters in the air, fist-pumping affirmative anthem, but he has so much better to provide.

That said, it’s hard to argue against the fact it is the most radio-friendly option besides a re-release of the title track. If I had my druthers, I’d follow “Nobody To Blame” with a “Traveller” single re-release, followed by “Daddy Don’t Pray Anymore”. The latter would undoubtedly be very risky, but I think he would have nothing to lose in the meanwhile by attempting a Hail Mary with a less conventional track.

Nadia – My thoughts exactly. I haven’t cared for “Parachute” from the first time I spun the album — weakest cut on “Traveller” as far as I’m concerned. If I’m in my car it is skipped every time I listen to the CD — which is still quite often. Perhaps a gender thing?

“Parachute” is not my favorite track either, nor was “Traveller”. My favorite songs are probably not going to be heard on the radio no matter how popular Chris Stapelton becomes. “Might as Well Get Stoned” is my favorite, and I also like “The Devil Named Music”, and “Outlaw State of Mind”, as well as his version of “Was it 26”.

Parachute is the song I’ve managed to lure in lots of non-country listeners with. Which is not a judgment, just an observation. I play couple of my favorites, and they’re like “eh, too country,” but I always get em with Parachute.

That said, “Traveller” is one of my favorite songs on the album. Plus it’s catchy, it makes you feel good. I can’t figure out why they wouldn’t use that as a single.

Yup I agree too Nadia parachute is a song I always skip on the CD… Just feels contrived and trying too hard I thought the sound sucked too we waited so long to hear Chris and then we couldn’t even hear him I love Chris but I thought the whole thing was flat and rather disappointing… Just have to be honest I’m wondering if he’s developing a vocal polyp or something his voice just didn’t have the power it usually does

And how in the HELL can you say nobody to blame is a bad single? Lmfao!!!!! This IS called saving COUNTRY music isn’t it???? Lol that’s the first song I instantly loved when popping in the CD the first time!!!!!

Well, he has been wrapping up his existing smaller venue tour plus piggybacking off all this award show hype with countless radio interviews and televised performances. Right in the peak of cold/flu season.

That grind is bound to wear you out when you’re only beginning to acclimate to burgeoning fame. I think he was bound to show signs of exhaustion in the thick of all this. Needless to say, he still gave a strong performance in my opinion. I just hope he finds much-needed downtime in what has to be a fairly intimidating explosion to superstardom.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with Chris Stapleton, or his voice. I think the sound guy for SNL needs to be fired. Just goes to show you can’t find good help these days. How many millions of people are watching, and you’ve got a shitty sound guy? Stapleton hasn’t even been touring. He’s been playing one-offs. I haven’t even seen that many interviews with him. He’ll be fine.

There’s a different between saying a song is a bad single, and saying a song is bad. I know what the name of this website is. I’ve been running it for nearly nine years. I work between 72-80 hours a week on it in some capacity. I can say it’s a bad single because I believe the people who listen to mainstream country radio would be more receptive to a different song. If you want my opinions about Chris Stapleton’s music, go read my reviews. This was simply a landing page for the videos from his SNL with a little bit of background info.

” Just have to be honest I”™m wondering if he”™s developing a vocal polyp or something his voice just didn”™t have the power it usually does”

I would check out the many, many comments here that say that the audio last night was washed out. Stapleton is not developing any polyps.

I don’t care about “pleasing the lemmings,” I care about releasing a single that will be effective in the marketplace it is being released to. Stapleton performed “Tennessee Whiskey” on the CMA Awards and it was #1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart in less than a week. Months later, and “Nobody To Blame” still sits outside the Top 20 on radio. Why? Because it doesn’t belong there, and the only reason it got that far is because it’s all radio programmers know to play from the hottest artist in country right now.

Also, I do care what mainstream country fans are served on the radio. Everybody has a right to good music. I’m not going to look down my nose at mainstream fans, I see them as folks who want something good to listen to, and just don’t know yet that they have more healthy alternatives.

Also, I don’t know Stapleton’s medical condition, but I do know assuming what it is, is unfair to everyone. The sound was bad, we all know that. His voice is fine. You’re the one making the dramatic leap of faith here.

I think the amazing part is how easily Chris has swept unopposed through the Country Music environment, an environment where he’s not “supposed” to have been accepted.
The media driven, out of touch mess that is Country Radio has become a cult of major labels and artists and caters exclusively to those fans now.
Stapleton had the odds stacked against him. It would be like George Jones trying to release an album of Elvis covers to Rock radio. No matter how good it is (and it would be amazing) radio doesn’t want it because radio is a marketing device that plays corporate music that can be mass-produced via formula.
Stapleton, against the odds, won over fans overnight, doing almost instantly what Sturgill, Isbell, and Whitey Morgan took five or six years, or more to do. And he hasn’t stopped there, he’s still going.

My guess is that he’s unstoppable at this point. I didn’t think the Grammy’s would go well for him, now I think he’s going to come away strong, and hopefully he has another album in the works to capitalize on this. If he can match sales with a second album and take another shot at the next batch of awards he could easily become this generation’s superstar.
At this rate he could easily surpass Taylor Swift and with a bit of luck he could go on to a level of stardom comparable to Elvis, Tony Bennett or Johnny Cash.

Hey I meant no harm or disrespect. I thought the remark was about Baby tiny Elvis fr/SNL ( I may be dating myself fr/30 years ago but it’s a funny skit) I apologize & won’t post nothing else, promise…….

Even though the performance got pushed back into the wee hours of the morning, SNL got the best lead in imaginable with that absolutely wild Cardinals / Packers game which ended in sudden death overtime. I don’t know whether that helped the ratings more than it hurt, or what.

Anyway, I would say the performance was a solid triple. I enjoyed it, and I think it will further Stapleton’s momentum and convert some new disciples. However, I would also quibble with the choice to lead off the show with “Parachute.” I like that song, but I was kinda hoping to hear something more substantial like “Fire Away,” which I think might have done a better job of grabbing people who aren’t already fans of Stapleton by the balls, so to speak. This leads me to my second nitpick, which is that I actually think it detracts from the performance sometimes to have too many people on the stage, especially when they’re not doing much. For example, on the first song, Morgane and Mickey Raphael were both rendered extraneous, and Dave Cobb just sort of stood there and strummed a guitar on both songs. (Sorry, Cobb.) But again, it was still a good performance. It was cool to see Robby Turner get at least one close up, even though he was pushed to the back of the stage.

I agree that the sound was weak, but I expected that, since the sound on SNL always sucks. It’s a either a bad room, or the sound team at 30 Rock is completely incompetent. Maybe both.

I downloaded “Traveller” the day it was released. “Parachute” caught me from the first notes Lyrics hit home, my favorite cut on the album. Sorry I missed SNL last night. New year resolution is to see him live this year.

Hey Robby looks like we were posting at the same time must be a match made in heaven glad you’ve been on SNL six times I haven’t once I don’t even watch it any more cause it’s sucked for like twenty years now

Either way part of being a good fan is being honest too many yes men around a star and they end up like Elvis you’ve prolly seen that before I know I have

In making my comment, there was no disrespect or lack of love for any artist that I’ve played. I would hope it’s obvious how much I personally love each artist that I have had the opp to do SNL with (musically & personally). Now I’m thinking my wording of my post was wrong. What I meant was that in this season of my life, I could really feel the energy of the rest of the band. Plus (& please don’t take this wrong) I’ve been Blessed to work amazing talented artists in my years & many are considered legendary. In my OPINION (just mine), I consider Chris to be @the top w/a few others. Please realize that I’m talking about my list & I’m not saying that he has to be anyone else fav. I’m not even saying that anybody has to like him at all. It’s just my thoughts in my head & my opinion is no more important than anybody else stating theirs on here. I promise I am not a music specialist (if there is one). I really try to keep an open mind to new music & where I don’t like certain records, that is only my pref. I have had great musical experiences due to reading an article or review from different sites, many being from Trigger & those that post here (BTW, thanks).

Parachute sucks it sounds like some wannabe pop rock number w banjo thrown in at the end definitely does not fit the cs persona

Kudos to Robby Turner for rocking the few seconds of spotlight he got his extra flourishes hopefully caught the attention of the initiated I’m hoping they thought “What’s that dude playing on his lap?” and check out the steel mission accomplished

I have not watched SNL for a long time and now I know why! I didn’t much appeciate PARACHUTE and I do not on the album either, but saved himself on NOBODY TO BLAME! The show itself, I thought, was pretty rotten!

All of this is great. He’s a badass. No one can argue with that. BUT. Chris Stapleton isn’t a country singer. There’s an element of country to what he does. But there’s much more soul and blues. The reason he is killing it is because mainstream country has long been flooded with mediocrity. Somebody with some real chops finally stepped up and was recognized for it. All of you hollering “finally a real country singer instead of pop country crap” need to just say “real singer”. This might ruffle some feathers. But before you disagree with me, listen to Marc Broussard sing. If Stapleton is country then so is Marc. Bottom line- Stapleton could sing the phone book. Thankfully he chose country music.

Man, there are a lot of big things happening. I guess I got to ease up on Chris, I guess he is genuinely part of the solution not the problem for now. I worry for all the imitators they are are enivitable, when they turn those monkey songwriting panels loose on alternative country/American it will muddy the water so much you won’t be able to see what’s real. When the uniqueness and individuality is gone because the shear number of those pretending they are something they are not then I will blame Chris Stapleton, and you.
You who stood righteously and steadfast, until you either became weary of your post or ignorant of your enemy. Was this the idea of victory all along? And how many will claim to have been on this side of the line all along? Your numbers are about to swell with all those people you have rallied against for so long.
These three songwriters have come along but they didn’t change everything they are merely the vehicle for the facade of change that still remains under the confidant control of the capitalist/ad exec/Nashville machine/ that always steered this ship. Teenagers will still dictate trends as dictated to them by media. It’s the same devil with a different song
But I won’t point the finger at Chris Stapleton vanymore he is just a good songwriter doing what he has to do to survive. The fault lays solely on US, we spread the gospel without thinking of the consequences. Of how that gospel could be used as a weapon against us. I urge you all to be ultra critical of every move made by these three men, Dave Cobb, and any person who comes through the door they left open. Its time for all of you to earn your keep

I hate conspiracy theories because it’s a convenient way to blame other people for problems that are really your own. It breeds hopelessness by selling the idea that everything is under the control of others.

So we’ll chide Music Row for not having a clue about anything, for being beset by copycat modes, and handcuffed by corporate bureaucracy. Yet at the same time they’re brilliant masterminds that have orchestrated this entire Stapeton/Sturgill/Isbell charade so masterfully that we’ve all been duped.

It’s like calling George Bush the most idiotic President the United States has ever seen, but then calling the entirety of 9/11 a masterminded conspiracy.

It’s got to be one or the other.

Music Row is just as stupefied by the success of Chris Stapelton as the rest of us. Trust me.

Huh. They’ve been on a Sunday for years. I wonder why they changed? Unfortunately, that means the pre broadcast presentation will likely get even more ignored, and that’s where some of the most important awards in the roots world are handed out.

With all of the talk of which tracks would have been good singles, I wonder if anyone has thoughts on why You Should Probably Leave didn’t make the album? Seemed like there were a lot of performances of it in the months leading up to the release of the album. I feel like it would have likely made a decent single.

I don’t believe it is, though if Kevin cleaned up a bit, they’d be a spitting image. Not seeing any indication from Kevin he was in NYC over the weekend. I recognize that bass player. I’ve seen him before. At first I thought it might be Chris Scruggs, but it’s not him either. Perhaps Robby Turner can fill us in on who the other players were.